Anything For You
by half-breedMiralian
Summary: Nearing the end of their sixth year, Head Girl and Head Boy find themselves slowly becoming civil to one another. What does strawberry-banana shampoo have to do with the whole ordeal?
1. Anything For You

Chapter I

HERMIONE GRANGER'S BLACK shoes clacked smartly on the stone steps as she made her way down to the dungeons for Potions Class. She always tried to get to classes a few minutes early before the other students arrived so that she could get a good seat in the front. She arrived at the large thick wooden door of the classroom and pushed it open.

Professor Snape was there, but so was someone else. That person was talking to Snape, and when his blond head turned, Hermione felt annoyance flare up in her chest. It was Draco Malfoy.

_Why is he here?_ she thought, hurrying down the aisle to the seat she wanted to sit in. _He never comes to class early._ She set down her books softly and avoided the sneering silver gaze of Malfoy. After a second or so, she sensed that he had turned away. There were low murmurs as the student and teacher resumed their talk. Hermione ignored them and pulled out the cauldron which sat underneath the large wooden double desk.

As she neatly arranged her books next to the large pot, students began to flood in through the door. Hermione noted that Harry and Ron were among the crowd and smiled when they waved at here. But they went to sit in a desk far in the back, away from the hawk-like gaze of Professor Snape. The students chattered and laughed, either not yet noticing that Snape was already in the dungeon, or knowing that he was there but hadn't told them to be quiet. A magnificent dark brown horned owl soared over the students' heads and landed on the teacher's desk. Snape took the envelope from the bird's beak, seemingly to the annoyance of Malfoy, Hermione noticed. As the bird quickly flew out of the dungeon, Snape opened the letter and read through it quickly. His eyes widened in shock, and he re-read the letter, as though he couldn't believe the contents written upon it.

_Now I wonder what that is,_ Hermione thought. _I've never seen the professor look so concerned._

Malfoy tried to peer over Snape's shoulder to see the letter, but the professor hurriedly pushed him away. He then seemed to grow aware of the students in the room, who had grown quite noisy now.

"Silence," he said loudly. And the room silenced.

Malfoy grudgingly took that as a cue that he had to go take a seat, so he jumped down the three steps that rose up to the teacher's desk and looked around the room for a place to sit. Hermione shivered as his silver eyes stopped on her momentarily. Malfoy's gaze narrowed and Hermione returned with a glare.

"Professor," Malfoy said in his usual drawling voice, "there isn't a seat open, it seems."

Snape looked up from the letter he had been reading. Hermione looked at the piece of paper in his hands. What was so important about it that Snape had to read it over and over again?

"Perhaps," Malfoy continued, glancing at a desk of two Gryffendor girls sitting in the back and gesturing to them, "one of them could move."

Snape stared at him blankly and looked down at the letter. He sighed, which seemed very heavy, and stood up. When he looked at Malfoy again, he had the same dull look in his eyes like he normally did. "Mr. Malfoy," he said slowly, "perhaps you failed to notice, but there is one seat left open."

Hermione glanced around the room. _Where?_ She couldn't see a seat open. But then she noticed that no one had sat next to her. Eyes turned to look at her, the Gryffendors with pity in their gaze. Ron and Harry's eyes widened. _Oh, gods, no…_ Hermione groaned inwardly.

"Come on, Professor," Malfoy said in a tight voice. He too, it seemed, understood the situation and didn't like it either. "Surely you must be joking? I can't sit there."

_Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to joke,_ Hermione thought. But she did, for once agree with what the ferret was saying. She did not, under any circumstances, wish to sit with Malfoy, even if it was just for one class period.

"I refuse to sit with that mud-!"

"Language, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, raising his voice slightly to interrupt him. "You _will_ sit with Miss Granger now. Any further arguments and you shall find yourself in here tonight for detention."

Malfoy's pale mouth snapped shut. Picking up his books which were on the cold stone floor, he shuffled over to Hermione's desk and set his belongings down with a loud thump. He slid into his seat as Professor Snape turned to the board and told the class to open their text books to page 320. Hermione shifted as far away from Malfoy as possible and pushed the cauldron in the center of the large desk so that there was an iron wall between them.

She stiffened as Malfoy suddenly leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You had better not mess up whatever potion we're doing, Granger." His breath felt warm, and yet Hermione shivered.

She glared at him and leaned away, hissing, "Oh, please, Malfoy. You're obviously forgetting who I am…"

DRACO MALFOY HEADED down the torch lit corridor to the Prefects' common room and living quarters, a scowl on his face.

_Who does Snape think he is, pairing me up with that filthy mudblood?_ he thought in annoyance as he stepped up to the portrait door. The painting was a pride of lions, yawning drowsily, ready to sleep underneath a tree. "Butterbeer," Draco growled, his cold voice echoing off the walls. The leader of the pride glanced at him, flicking an ear, and the portrait swung open.

Draco stalked through the entryway, muttering a curse or two under his breath, and went up the staircase on the left of the common room to the Head Boy and Girl living quarters. He stopped at the top of the stairs, hand lightly touching the wooden railing, and stared at the two doors in front of him. One was labeled Head Boy, which was his room, and one was labeled Head Girl, Granger's room.

Draco glared at the Head Girl's door as though it were her itself and went into his room. He figured that everyone else was either in bed by now or patrolling the corridors since the lights downstairs were very dim and not a sound could be heard coming from the Prefects' quarters downstairs. Draco loosened his tie and changed into his sleeping garments. As he headed for his large canopy bed, he thought he heard a faint tune, so he stopped and listened.

It sounded close, but not in his room. He looked around for the source as he sat down on the bed. It sounded closer now. He frowned and looked behind him at the wall. Was it coming from there? He pressed his ear to the silver ivy patterned wallpaper and listened. It was definitely coming from the mudblood's room. He knew that it was an instrument but couldn't tell which one, though, because it was muffled.

Draco growled. He had to be partnered with her in Potions today, and now he was being kept awake by her music, by muggles no less, he supposed. Leaping up off the mattress, he left his room, wand in hand, and raised the other to bang on Granger's door. He was surprised to see that the door was cracked open.

_Now that's something odd and rare,_ he thought, pushing it open and peeking inside. _Usually she keeps her room under lock and key._ It was dark inside the room. Draco couldn't see much except for dark silhouettes. He could just barely make out the faint outline of the bed a few paces in front of him. _So our beds are back to back, eh?_ he thought, stepping into the room and going over to stand by the bed.

He could hear the music quite clearly now. He looked down and could tell that the motionless form on the bed was Granger, and she was asleep. Oh, he knew that she was asleep alright, or else she would have slugged him already. _Just like in third year,_ he thought, then shook the unpleasant memory from his head.

"_Lumos,_" he whispered, and the tip of his wand lit up. Now he could see things a bit more clearly. Granger had fallen asleep in her school robs and her curly hair was splayed across the pillow she lay on. Now her still hand lay what Draco recognized as a muggle CD player. A soft sweet tune was playing through the speakers. The instrument was a piano, he now realized. But Draco wasn't swayed by the music. He leaned forward with his wand to try to see how to turn the device off.

As he did, his hand brushed Granger's hair. He ignored the softness of her locks as he picked up the CD player and looked it over. There were small buttons and two dials on it that he didn't have the slightest clue how to work. After a minute of frustration, he let the device drop back onto the pillow.

"Just shut up already," he muttered, waving his wand and casting a silencing charm over the CD player. It fell silent. Satisfied, he straightened up to leave and get some sleep. A hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down and saw that Granger had rolled over in her sleep and had a hold on his arm. Draco's eyes widened. The little mudblood was actually touching him!

"Granger! Oi, Granger!" Draco hissed, tugging at his long nightshirt sleeve which was trapped beneath her hand. "Gods, wake up, stupid!"

Not caring if he woke her up now, he wrenched his arm out of her grasp and stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind him. He stood out in the hallway in front of the stairs for a minute, listening for any movement from inside the girl's room. Nothing.

Sighing and running a hand through his blond hair, he went back into his room and dimmed the lamps on the wall. He set his wand on the dresser by the door, and climbed into the canopy bed. _That stupid girl,_ he thought as he closed his eyes. _How dare she. Father will have to hear about this in the morning._ He opened his eyes a bit and looked down at his arm where the girl had touched him. A quick blush rose to his cheeks in the dark and he shook his head. Then he closed his eyes again and fell asleep, a certain piano tune playing through his mind.


	2. Anything For You II

Chapter II

"GUYS, I THINK someone came into my room last night."

Harry looked up from feeding his snow owl, Hedwig, a piece of bacon. Ron merely continued to gorge himself with food.

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"My CD player," Hermione said in a low voice. "It was still running when I woke up, but no music was coming from it. Someone must have placed a silencing spell on it."

Ron took a large swig of orange juice. "Now that's odd. Didn't you have your door locked?"

"I don't remember," Hermione said worriedly. "I was so tired that I fell asleep in my school clothes." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an unfriendly and unwelcome face quickly approaching, blond hair falling in front of silver eyes that seemed to be a bit more of a steel color at the moment.

"Granger!" Malfoy shouted, coming to a stop behind her.

Hermione looked back at him and frowned. "What?"

"Your bloody music," the Slytherin spat. "That's what. It nearly kept me up all night!"

Hermione froze. "Malfoy," she said slowly, "did you come into my room and shut it off?"

Malfoy's eyes widened. "Now what makes you think," he hissed, leaning down till his face was merely inches from hers, "that I, for even a split second, would set foot in that little hovel of yours?"

Hermione smirked. "At least my 'hovel' is clean. Yours must be a pigsty."

"I'll have you know that my room is perfectly clean," Malfoy sneered, placing his hands on his hips and straightening.

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

SNAPE GOT UP from his seat at the head table and hurried over to Dumbledore, who was enjoying a goblet of pumpkin juice. The headmaster looked up as Snape thrust the letter he had received yesterday under his nose.

"Headmaster," Snape said in a low voice, "please explain to me what the meaning of this is."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Why, the meaning is written plainly in the letter, isn't it?"

Snape glared at him. "I understand what it says. What I do not understand is _why_ it says these things."

Now Dumbledore lowered his voice. "Think about it, Severus. If we can turn those two enemies into friends, we'll be taking away one of Voldemort's sources of information. Draco reports almost everything to his father. But if Miss Granger can change the boy…"

"That's impossible," Snape said. "Draco and that girl loath each other. He has too much pride to be friends with a muggle."

Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye as he answered, "We shall see." Then he raised his voice and said. "Attention, students! Attention!"

All movement in the Great Hall ceased. Hermione and Draco, in the middle of their fight, looked up, still shooting occasional glares at each other.

"After breakfast, there will be a surprise room inspection," Dumbledore announced, smiling when he heard groans echo throughout the spacious hall. "Oh, come now. It's not that bad. The Prefects will inspect the houses. The Head Boy and Head Girl will inspect the Prefects' rooms. Points will be taken from the house if a room is messy. Prefects will receive punishment if their rooms are unorganized as well. You will have one hour to prepare your rooms when breakfast is over. That is all."

The Great Hall exploded into chatter again, now more vibrant than ever. Dumbledore smiled and looked up at Severus, who shook his head and gave an exhausted sigh.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," he warned as he headed back to his seat. He opened the letter again and reread it, still disbelieving.

_Severus,_

_Forgive me for sending this letter in haste. I am appointing you the special task of being a matchmaker for the time being. Please push Mr. Draco Malfoy and Miss Hermione Granger together. Ask the questions later, please. I will be in and out of the school now and again and cannot do much, thus the task falls to you. Understand? So, for your Potions Class today and onward, pair them up._

_Thank you,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Snape rubbed his forehead. _Matchmaker? Really, Dumbledore,_ he thought. He could tell that his job was going to get a bit more complicated from now on.

"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE," HERMIONE said over the small crowd of Prefects. They turned their attention to her as she spoke. "We've been over the rules. It doesn't have to be perfect, just acceptable. And make sure that you judge each room, no matter what house, _fairly._" She narrowed her eyes at the Slytherin Prefects, who scowled back. "Understand? While you're all away, Malfoy and I will be checking your rooms." There were groans. "Anyone's room found unacceptable will be assigned double night patrol _and_ cleaning the bathrooms." The groans grew louder still. "Oh, enough. Now go. The inspection starts now."

The Prefects shuffled out of the common room through the portrait door and were gone. Hermione turned to Malfoy, who had been sitting on the couch in front of the fire, watching the flames dance in the grate. "Well, let's get started."

"What?" Malfoy looked up, mock surprise on his pale face. "Do you actually think that I'm going to help you with this stupid inspection?"

"You have to," Hermione pointed out for a fact. "You're Head Boy."

"I don't want to," Malfoy said. "I'm busy."

"You're not doing anything!" Hermione snapped. "Now get your lazy butt up off the couch and start inspecting." She stormed off, brown curls bouncing with each angry step she took. _Real mature, Hermione,_ she thought sheepishly.

She started first in the Hufflepuff Prefects' quarters. She knew what to expect as she peered into the girls' rooms. Everything was neat and organized with barely a speck of dust on the wooden furnishings. Not that she was being that picky. She checked the boys' rooms and found that they were in exactly the same condition.

The Ravenclaws' rooms were just as good. Hermione noted that almost all of the shelves were filled with books. She giggled as she left.

Slytherin rooms were alright, she thought, though she saw a tie or a sock sticking out of the drawers, or a ruffled bed sheet. They passed…barely.

Gryffendor was fine, average, not too neat, and not too dirty. At least they seemed a bit better than the Slytherin rooms.

Hermione sighed as she walked up the stairs to the Head rooms, glancing back for a second at Malfoy. He wasn't on the couch anymore. _Probably ditched and went for a walk outside,_ Hermione thought. She stopped at the top of the stairs and heard music coming from her room. She remembered that she had left her CD player on, but then shrugged it off. _I'll get it later._

With a shake of her head, she pushed open the Head Boy door.

"WHAT THE HECK am I doing?" Draco shook his head as he looked around Granger's room, violin music playing loudly from the CD player on the bed. When the mudblood had gone to inspect the other rooms, he had decided to come upstairs and perhaps mess up her room. But for some reason, he didn't feel like it anymore.

He glanced over at the electronic device and raised an eyebrow. _I thought that muggle devices weren't allowed in the school._ He sat down on the bed and laid his head back on the pillow. A sweet scent drifted up from the cloth and he sat up and looked around the room again.

"What flavor is that?" he murmured, getting up and going over to the dresser that had a mirror attached to it. "Smells familiar." He looked over the small bottles and vials that sat on the smooth wooden surface, picked up the perfume bottles and sniffed them slightly, but none of the scents matched up.

He wandered into the bathroom, hoping to find that familiar smell. As he pushed back the shower curtain, he paused for a moment to wonder why he was doing this. The answer came to him and he smirked. _Because I know that if she finds me here, she'll be pissed._ He chuckled and reached for the first bottle he saw. _And that expression would be priceless._

He sniffed the contents of the bottle and his eyes widened. Right on the money. He looked at the label. Strawberry-banana. Now he remembered why the scent was so familiar. It was the scent of his mother's favorite perfume.

"Oh, the irony," he muttered.

THE ROOM WAS neat, surprisingly. Hermione looked carefully around, eyes searching for the least bit of imperfection. There were none. She felt a slight twinge of disappointment. Now she wouldn't be able to annoy him with a penalty. She sighed and sat down on the bed.

The soft, blurred sound of music drifted through the wall to her ears. _Which instrument is this?_ she wondered. The CD had a variety of instruments on it. _Ah, I can't tell which one._ Her eyes widened as she remembered what happened this morning in the Great Hall.

"I can't tell what instrument is playing," she whispered, shocked. Then her shock turned to anger. He _had_ entered her room!

"Bloody hell," she growled, drawing her wand and leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. "I'm going to skin that blond ferret."

She started to put her foot on the first step to go downstairs and hunt the boy, but a shuffle within her room stopped her. Her head whipped around and saw that her door was cracked open. She gritted her teeth and quietly went to her door, wand at the ready.

_I'll kill him._

THE ONLY THING that saved him from being hit by the spell was his quick thinking. He had come out of the bathroom and lay down on the bed, wondering if she would be even more annoyed when she saw him like this. He got his answer.

"_Pugnacio!_"

He could almost hear the hatred in her voice as she fired it at him, but he didn't have time to gloat over his accomplished mission. The bright light shot at him, and moving fast, he rolled over the side of the bed and dropped out of the angry witch's sight.

The spell connected with the wall the canopy bed was backed up against, blasting straight through it. A large hole was left, burnt wallpaper around the edges. It was then that Granger finally realized that their beds were back to back. But she dismissed the thought quickly, focusing instead on her prey.

Draco's blond head popped up from the other side of the bed. He smirked at the hole in the wall, seeing his own bed on the other side. Then he looked at Granger.

"That was a little bit irrational, don't you think?" he asked.

Granger sneered at him. "I should throw you from the astronomy tower."

"You wouldn't have the guts," Draco laughed.

"I don't doubt that Harry and Ron wouldn't mind," she pointed out.

Draco didn't take the threat to heart.

"You lied to me," Granger said slowly. "You said that you didn't come into my room to turn of the CD player."

"So?" Draco shrugged. "You think I'd tell a mudblood what I'd really been doing?"

He didn't miss the small flinch the girl did at the racist word.

"You had no right," Granger hissed.

"It would have kept me up all night," Draco stated simply.

"Well, why were you in my room now?"

Draco raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Aren't we doing a room inspection right now?" He almost laughed when he saw clear embarrassment appear on Granger's face.

She bent her head down till her brown curls were covering her face. "Fine," she muttered. "Just finish up soon. And you passed, by the way."

"Huh?"

Granger glanced at him. "You passed inspection."

Draco was a bit taken aback by her neutral tone. "O-oh," he stammered. "Well, so do you."

Hermione nodded and walked to her bed. She reached out and pressed a button, and the music stopped. She looked across to Draco, who stood there in awkward silence. He shuffled around the bed and toward the door, disappointed that the exchange hadn't gone in his favor. As he passed by Granger, he smelled the scent again, emanated from her hair.

"Why didn't you tell me that you came into my room?"

Draco stopped to consider the question. "I don't know," he answered honestly. And then he left.


	3. Anything For You III

Chapter III

HERMIONE HEADED TO her room after coming back from a last minute walk outside with her two closest friends, Harry and Ron. She entered her room and went into the bathroom. She quickly changed into her nightgown and brushed her teeth. After yanking a comb a little too quickly through her hair, she entered her room and turned out the lights.

Her CD player was on her dresser, so she pressed play. It was another piano piece, this time soft and gentle. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then went to the window and pulled back the curtains. It was only a half moon tonight, but the half that showed glowed brightly.

"Beautiful," she said to herself.

"You seem to forget that there's a hole in the wall and I can still hear the music."

Hermione whirled around and glared at the source of misery in her life. "It's rude to spy on people."

Malfoy placed his elbows on the break and leaned forward till he was hanging over her pillow up to his waist. "I'm not spying, really. I can't help what I see or overhear now that there's a big hole in the wall. Why don't you just repair it if you're so annoyed with me having a view of your bedroom?"

"I'm too tired right now. I'll get it in the morning," Hermione snapped.

Malfoy's eyes glinted in the moonlight. Hermione sighed and squinted through the darkness at the clock that hung over her door. "It's late," she pointed out, coming over and sitting on her bed. "Little ferrets should go to sleep in their nests at this time." She smirked as she saw his eyes flash angrily. Then to her surprise, the anger passed.

"It's only ten," he said calmly. "I go to bed when I please."

"Well," Hermione growled, "you are hanging halfway in my room over my pillow." She looked Malfoy square in the face. "I prefer to go to sleep without having someone watching me."

Shrugging, Malfoy backed up and sat on his haunches on his bed. Hermione ducked down and curled up under the sheets. They felt cool on her bare arms and legs. She sighed and lay there quietly.

Ten minutes later, Malfoy said, "You're not asleep, are you?"

Silence. Then the reply of, "No."

"WHY?" DRACO ASKED, head on his pillow.

"First of all, I don't normally fall asleep right away," Granger said. "Second of all, the fact that there's a giant gaping hole connecting me to my enemy's room doesn't really help."

Silence again. Draco quietly sat up and peered over the edge of the hole. Granger stared up back at him. She raised an eyebrow and he smirked in return.

"If you're not going to sleep right now, then shall we talk?"

Draco was a bit surprised at the question. "Why would the perfect Gryffindor princess want to talk with the terrible Slytherin prince?"

The smile that spread across Granger's face made Draco blush. He was grateful for the darkness, though he wondered why he would ever be attracted to this mudblood.

"I'm not unreasonable, Malfoy," she giggled. "You may hate mudbloods, especially me, but the only reason I fight with you is because you start it every time."

Draco opened his mouth to deny this statement, but he knew it was true. "Fine. I pick the topic."

Granger shrugged and sat up to face him.

"Your shampoo."

The look on her face was hilarious. It was a mixture of confusion, shock, but mostly disgust. Draco laughed aloud and she frowned at him.

"Are you a stalker?" she asked warily.

Draco snored. "You think that I would stalk a mudblood?" He saw her flinch at the word and regretted his words, but continued. "I don't stalk people. It's more of vice versa, especially with the girls."

"Shampoo?" Granger demanded.

"Uh, right. I smelled this familiar scent, so I went looking for the bottle. It was your shampoo. Strawberry-banana, right?" She nodded. "It's the same scent as my mother's favorite perfume."

Granger grinned devilishly. "Oh, my. Does the notorious Draco Malfoy have a mother complex?"

Draco glared at her and ducked down on his side of the wall, closing his eyes. "I think that this conversation is over."

Laughing softly, Granger now leaned over and looked down at him. "I don't understand. You throw insults at people, but you can't take a simple joke. Interesting."

Draco didn't open his eyes, but he gave a grunt that sounded a bit like a laugh.

"So what you were basically trying to say was that you like the smell of my hair?"

"Don't twist my words around," Draco hissed, suddenly sitting up and thrusting his face close to hers. "I said that your shampoo scent smelled familiar. It brought back memories."

"What kind of memories?"

"Like…in the summers when I was younger." A faint smile crossed his lips as he remembered his childhood. "My mother would take me on picnics while my father was out on business. We'd go to a pond and eat and catch dragonflies. When I fell asleep in her lap, I always smelled the strawberry-banana perfume."

His eyes widened as he realized that he had said too much. Slowly, he lay back down and sighed. "Forget this conversation, Granger. Just go to sleep."

Granger disappeared on her side of the wall. A few seconds later, Draco heard a whisper from the other side of the wall.

"Good night, Draco."

He considered his response for a moment, then said, "Good night, Hermione.

"UM, HERMIONE, YOU seem awfully cheerful today," Harry said slowly.

Hermione looked over to her Potions partner. "Hm?"

"I said that you look really cheerful today," he repeated.

"Oh." Hermione pursed her lips together. "Well, I suppose that I am."

"Why?" Ron had turned away from his partner, Lavender, and looked at them. "Did something good happen?"

"It's not what you would call good," Hermione began. "It's more of…interesting."

Both leaned in. "Do tell," Harry said.

"Malfoy," Hermione say simply.

Ron frowned. "Did that bloody ferret do something to you?"

Hermione quickly shook her head. "Don't be so quick to accuse, Ronald. He didn't do anything."

"So then what was the interesting thing?" Harry asked.

"We actually had a civilized conversation, I guess."

"No, seriously," Ron laughed. His smile dropped when he realized that she was serious and he gawked at her. "You're not joking? What did you guys talk about?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Strawberry-banana shampoo."

Now it was Harry's turn to gawk. "That doesn't sound like Malfoy at all! You sure you weren't talking to someone using a polyjuice potion?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Forget it, you guys."

They pressed her with more questions for answers, but when they saw that she wasn't cracking, they gave up, though Ron kept on glancing back at her.

"Class," said a monotone voice. Professor Snape swept into the dungeon. A piece of piece of parchment with spidery writing was in his hand. He reached his desk and turned to face the class, black robe swishing.

"From now on, for any Potions class you have with me, you will have an assigned partner. You will have this partner for the rest of the remaining school year."

The groans only lasted for a second before being stopped by the icy glare of their professor. Ron, Hermione, and Harry glanced at each other. They didn't mind assigned partners, but not under any circumstances did they want to end up with someone from their rival house: Slytherin.

Snape began reading off the pairings from the parchment he had brought in, although he seemed a bit annoyed with it all. Ron and Harry got paired together, to their luck. Hermione, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, "you two will be a pair."

Just like yesterday, both students began to protest, but then Snape shot them a glare so fierce that their mouths snapped shut. He finished reading off the pairings, then told the students to make the switch. There were shuffles and giggles and murmurs as they all got up and moved about the room.

Hermione sighed as she moved her books over to Malfoy's double desk. As she sat down, he glared at her and she raised her hands in defense. "What did I do?"

"Don't think that last night's talk made us buddies," he growled.

Hermione sighed. "Malfoy…"

"You didn't tell them, did you?"

"Huh?"

"Potter and Weasly," Malfoy snapped. "You didn't tell them about the conversation, did you?"

"Yes," Hermione replied after a split second. "I told them everything. Now they know that Malfoy's got a mother's complex." It was a lie, of course. She had only told them the topic, but after Malfoy's harsh dismissal, she felt that a little revenge was needed. She was shocked by the look he gave her.

It was a look of hatred. Not pure hatred, though. There was another emotion mixed in there that Hermione read all too clearly: betrayal.

"Just another thing that they have to laugh about," Malfoy muttered in a hoarse voice.

Hermione instantly regretted her actions. "Malfoy…"

"Don't screw up the potions for the rest of the year, mudblood."

Hermione's eyebrows knitted together, but she didn't reply with a fierce insult. She knew that she deserved it fully.

_I'll tell him later,_ she thought, reaching underneath the desk for the cauldron.


	4. Anything For You IV

Chapter IV

DRACO TOOK A deep breath of the crisp, clean air. It was the middle of March, and spring seemed to be closing in fast now. He looked up from his reflection in the lake at the sound of laughter. His lips curled back in a snarl as he saw the Golden Trio walking along the shore.

"…and after the poor kid ate it, he nearly puked up his entire breakfast!" Ron exclaimed while Harry laughed.

"Honestly, Ron," Granger chided. "He was just a first year. You shouldn't be giving them Puking Pastels without telling them what it is first."

This made the two boys laugh even harder.

"But his face!" Harry barely got out. "You should have seen it, Hermione!"

She rolled her eyes and quickened her pace to get ahead of them. She stopped when she saw Draco. He ducked out of sight behind a thick tree trunk, cursing quietly.

"What is it, Hermy?" Ron asked as he wiped a tear away.

"Nothing," she said casually. "You guys go on ahead to the Great Hall for lunch."

"But lunch doesn't start for another forty minutes," Harry said, confused.

"Then go find someone else who'll listen to your immature stories," Granger said airily. "Because I certainly don't want to."

They shrugged and decided to go visit Hagred, Harry starting another story.

Draco heard her approach, but didn't look at her. He just stared at his reflection. The girl sat down a foot away from him and drew her knees in under her chin, legs nearly swallowed by her black school robes.

There was silence for a time, till she finally said, "Where's Crabb and Goyle? Or Pansy?"

"Why do you care?" he shot back. "What, are you going to tell them about my _mother complex?_" He spat the words out in disgust.

"How can you make fun of everyone, and yet not take an insult without sulking?" Granger asked.

Draco didn't answer. Did this girl have to say something painfully true every time they saw each other? She started to scoot closer, but he stopped her with a hand.

"Don't even think about it, Granger," he snarled.

Surprisingly, she didn't heed his words and moved closer till she was less than an inch away. Draco leaned away as she leaned near, a serious expression on her face.

"Listen to me," she said slowly. "I didn't do it."

A confused expression crossed Draco's face. "What?"

"This morning." The girl flung her hands up in the air and lay back in the grass. "I didn't tell them what you said. I only told them that the main topic was shampoo."

Draco considered this new bit of information. He glanced back at Hermione, who had her closed her eyes. _She didn't say anything…but why would she lie to me?_ Had he said anything to offend her? He thought back to this morning in Potions class. Yes, he had told her that they weren't friends, but that was only truth, wasn't it? Still…He stole another glance at her.

Her eyes were open now and she was staring at the clouds floating lazily in the sky. He observed her for a minute. He – reluctantly – noticed that her eyes were a light hazel color, her smooth-skinned face framed by chestnut locks. His eyes trailed down her body which was completely covered by her black school robes.

Hermione shifted a bit and the black fabric slid away a bit, revealing a teasing hint of her bare legs. Draco looked away. _Why am I embarrassed? It's not like I haven't seen that before._ He was at a loss, which rarely happened. He couldn't possibly be…attracted to her, could he? He shook his head fiercely and ran his fingers through his blond hair. _Get a grip, Draco. You are a Malfoy. You do _not_ get attracted to mudbloods like her. Especially not her._ But against his better judgment, he stole another look at the girl.

She was now looking at him.

"W-what?" Draco asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Nothing." She turned her gaze back to the sky. "But have you ever wondered…" She trailed off.

"Wondered?" Draco prompted.

"Wondered what it would be like if we were friends?"

SHE HAD BEEN expecting a reaction like "Of course not," or "Are you insane, Granger? Why would I want to be friends with a mudblood like you?" But none of those sentences came. Instead, Draco looked at her in confusion.

"I've hated you and your annoying friends for years." Okay, she'd been expecting something like that, though. "I've taunted you, insulted you…and yet you wonder what it would be like if we were friends? What, are you offering me friendship?"

Hermione closed her eyes. The sun felt warm on her body. "Well, we have matured over the years. Perhaps it's time to put away our hatred and form a truce. So I suppose," she sat up and looked at him, "that, yes, I am offering you my friendship."

The look in the Slytherin's eyes worried Hermione. She wondered if she had overstepped a line. But the look passed and was replaced with more confusion.

"Why?"

She felt as though he was allowing her to press forward, so she took a deep breath and explained. "You are surrounded by people who treat you like a king. They laugh when you laugh, insult when you insult…" Draco raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's true! And yet, they don't really seem like your friends. You seem to only be friends with them because you have to, like someone told you to. Either that, or you're just too afraid to make friends with people who aren't in your house and aren't purebloods. People who you don't feel like you can trust."

She knew that she had hit home on both suggestions by the pained expression on Draco's face. He looked away quickly, and muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Father says that I…shouldn't put my trust in people who are weak, like the half-bloods and muggles." He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. "He says that they will let you down. Only the strong will survive, so I have to build good connections with the families."

Hermione saw him frown and smiled sympathetically. "So you don't have a real friend."

"I do!" Draco shot back. "Blaise is probably the only one who understands me. He may like to fool around with girls a lot, but he's been there for me since I first came to this school. The others are idiots. They follow me around like sheep. Pathetic."

"Then wouldn't that make them the weak ones, even though they're purebloods?" Hermione pointed out.

"Do you always have to prove me wrong?" Draco snapped, though he couldn't keep the laugh out of his voice.

"It's what I am," Hermione giggled. She stared at him for a minute as he looked at the lake with a small smile on his face. _He really has grown handsome this year, hasn't he?_ she thought. _I can see why almost all of the girls want to date him. I wouldn't mind it._ She blushed as she realized what she had just thought.

"You're an interesting one."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. It seemed a bit gentler.

"I hated you, Potter, and Weasly," he continued, "for years. It was so much fun teasing you and watching Weasel try to launch failed spells at me. Hey, it's what I am," he said when Hermione shot a glare at him.

"Don't you still hate us?" Hermione asked, noticing a ripple in the middle of the lake.

Draco nodded. "I do."

Hermione winced, even though she knew that this answer had been coming. "So then why sit here and talk with me?" A tentacle rose up out of the lake and splashed down on the water.

"Technically, I was here first, and you came and started talking with me," the boy pointed out.

Hermione winced again.

"But," Draco said slowly, "I am actually considering taking you up on your offer of friendship."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Would I joke with you?"

She stopped, wondering if it was a trick question.

The grin that split Draco's face was dazzling. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He nudged her shoulder. "I knew that you would over think that question."

Hermione laughed, not noticing that Draco blushed as she did. "Oh, this is wonderful! A truce after _six_ years. Harry and Ron will be ecstatic, though I might have to convince them a bit and-"

"Woah, woah, woah, Granger," Draco said, holding up a hand to stop her. "I never said anything about including Potter and Weasly in this thing. I said I would take up _your_ offer of friendship."

"O-oh…" Hermione went back to staring at the lake. The giant squid surfaced and seemed to be looking directly at her with its big black eyes. She shivered and averted her gaze back to Draco.

He noticed her shiver and looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you cold, Hermione?"

"Oh, ah, no," Hermione stammered. "It's just…wait, did you just call me…?"

"If we're friends, can't we be on a first name basis?"

"Oh, yeah," she said. _Why am I so nervous? It's just Malfoy. I've known him for years._ She answered her question immediately. _I've known him for years, but only as an enemy. I don't know how to act around him when he's being nice._

"Gra-Hermione?"

"Yes?"

Draco glanced at her. "I would prefer if you didn't tell your little buddies about this truce." He chuckled a bit. "Wouldn't want them thinking I was going soft."

Hermione raised an eyebrow feeling a little annoyance flare up. Why couldn't she tell them? They were her best friends. "Oh, of course not," she drawled mockingly in a matter that made the young wizard frown. "We wouldn't want to tell anyone. The Slytherin Prince doesn't want them to know that he's grown a heart overnight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked, though his grey eyes seemed to flash a bit.

"Well," Hermione said slowly, "I know that they would think that you're plotting, suddenly having a change of heart. Even I'm surprised that you're acting like this. What's gotten into you?"

"What, I can't be nice just because I'm a pureblood?"

Hermione frowned. "I don't know. Why don't you want anyone to know of your friendship with a Muggleborn? Because you're a pureblood. It would ruin your reputation."

"You think I'm worried about my reputation?" Draco hissed venomously. "Do you always doubt people like this?"

"You are worried, aren't you?" Hermione glared at him. "It's all too clear. No self-respecting pureblood would be caught dead with a _mudblood,_ especially me!" She stood up and started to walk away. _Why am I angry?_ she wondered. _He didn't really do anything…but it still hurts that he wouldn't want to be seen with someone like me._

Someone grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

Draco glared at her, his eyes dangerously stormy. "Well, then, maybe you're right. Why the heck would I want to be seen with the likes of you, much less be friends?" He released her wrist. "You'd be spreading your disease around. It's like the bloody plague. Filthy Mudblood."

Hermione recoiled as though she had been slapped. She had been called a mudblood so many times before by him, but for some reason, this one hurt even more. Maybe it was because she had just been beginning to understand him. She didn't know. All she knew was that he had reverted back to being an arrogant, spoiled git.

"If I'm a disease, why are you still standing here?" she spat. Without waiting for his reply, she twirled and headed for the castle. It was almost lunchtime, and her _real_ friends would be wondering where she was.

DRACO WATCHED HER go, wanting to call out after her, but unable to voice his thoughts. The words had just slipped out by force of habit. He hadn't meant it…well, maybe he had. But it had been her who had started the fight, hadn't it? Yes, he assured himself. He wasn't at fault this time, for once. She was.

But as he started taking a different route up to the castle he began to feel even guiltier then he should have been, or so he told himself. Those words he had said were uncalled for, he had to admit, though. She had only been trying to make a joke. And she had been curious of his current behavior. He knew that if the Weasel had come up to him and wanted to be friends, he would have been suspicious.

"Gods, she was right," he sighed in frustration, running a hand through his silky blond hair. "I do tend to sulk when I've been made fun of."

Was an apology needed? He looked back at the young witch, but her figure was barely recognizable in the distance as she headed in for lunch. He could have sworn that she glanced back, but he wasn't sure.

He didn't know what sparked it just then, but as the girl disappeared into the castle, he felt like he did have to apologize. He grinned as he thought of a good way almost immediately. He started out for the castle at a steady jog, and then broke into a run, hoping that Hermione hadn't fixed the hole in the wall.


	5. Anything For You V

Chapter V

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking up from his cream pie.

Hermione snapped out of her daze at his question. "P-pardon? What do you mean?"

"You've been looking down ever since you came in for lunch," Ron explained, licking a bit of cream off his fork. "I was just wondering what was wrong."

Hermione, as well as Harry who had been looking over a newspaper Hedwig had brought in, was surprised. Since when had Ron been the person to pay attention to what was going on with her emotions? She cast Harry a sideways glance, who shrugged and turned the page to an interesting article on the latest Quidditch scores. Ron looked at her expectantly for an answer.

"It's nothing, Ron," Hermione sighed. "I'm just a bit tired is all. I've been studying like mad for my classes, something which you probably don't do at all." Her eyes narrowed.

Ron shrugged. "Okay."

The tall doors of the Great Hall opened. Hermione looked up to see Draco's little party of Slytherins flounce in…without Draco. She frowned. He was always with them, or more of they were always with him. Something was wrong. Was he off crying in some corner because she had destroyed the truce so suddenly?

Hermione snorted at the thought of Draco the cold-hearted crying. She couldn't even a clear image in her mind. Harry raised an eyebrow and she shook her head, telling him to forget about it. He didn't need another thing to picture that would help him laugh at Draco. She paused. _Since when did I care about what my friends think about him?_ She sighed and finished off her goblet of pumpkin juice.

Eventually, after barely listening to Harry and Ginny talking about their plans for the next Hogsmead trip, her eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table. Crabb and Goyle were looking up and down their long table, probably searching for Draco. Hermione could practically hear Pansy complaining to Blaise about her missing "sweetheart", but he ignored her, popping a sweet into his mouth. And yet, as relaxed as he seemed, Hermione noticed that he kept on glancing at the doors, as though he were expecting his best friend to walk through them.

_That does it,_ she thought, standing up. _I'm going to look for him._ She left the bench, but paused when Ginny asked, "Where're you going, 'Mione?"

"Well, I'm done eating, aren't I?" Hermione replied casually, although she was itching to leave the Great Hall. "I'm going up to my room to study. You remember that Professor McGonagal hinted about a pop quiz." In her haste, she glanced at the doors, and that immediately told Ginny that she was lying.

"We'll talk later," the red-head said in a low voice so that only Hermione could hear.

Hermione nodded reluctantly and quickly left the Great Hall.

_UNBELIEVABLE,_ SHE THOUGHT as she entered the common room for the Prefects. _I've searched almost the entire castle. He couldn't still be outside, could he?_ She slowly climbed the stairs to her room and entered it, eyes on her feet.

"Oh, what do I care?" she said, looking up from the white carpeted floor. "He can–" She stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the wall behind her bed. In the place of a giant, gaping hole with singed wallpaper was a large, round window, complete with wooden slide-away shutters.

Her eyes widened with each step she took as she drew nearer and nearer to the piece. "Beautiful," she whispered, kneeling on her bed and reaching out to lightly stroke the smooth finish on the wood. "Who could have…no, who would have…" A small piece of neatly folded parchment crinkled under her knee.

Her eyes lingered on the window once more before dropping them down to the paper. She picked it up and slowly unfolded it, all the while muttering to herself, "It couldn't be. It just couldn't be." A neat, flowing script was written on the page, and she quickly began to read the note, anxious to see who it was from.

_Hermione,_

_I must ask your forgiveness for what I said earlier. I do realize that you were a bit excited about this whole truce and all. So, I'm sorry, and as a gift to you, I fixed the hole in the wall. But instead of patching it up, I made a window. Now we can try to "see each other more clearly." That is what you wanted isn't it? To get to know one another? And if it isn't, I'll patch the hole up._

_You asked me what was wrong, why I wanted to be friends. I think that you were right. I _am_ scared of making new friends. So, what better way to make friends than to start with your enemies? If you think I'm feverish, I assure you that I'm not. Hoping that this apology is suffice,_

_Yours truly,_

_Draco Malfoy_

A noise came from her open bedroom window. Hermione slowly looked up, still shocked that it had been Draco who had written the note and made the window, only to actually see him there on a broom.

He was wearing his Quidditch equipment, and his green robe billowed out behind him like a cape in the wind. His eyes met hers, and he blushed, something that he didn't normally do.

"I, um, was hoping to put the finishing touches on your gift before you got back," he said softly, carefully stepping onto the window sill and entering the room, one hand holding the broom the other concealed in his robes. "Here."

From within his robes he brought out a rose. It wasn't red, but white. There were no thorns on it, Hermione noticed. He had probably used magic to remove them. Hermione got up and took a few tentative steps forward, then stopped about a foot away from him. They didn't look at each other for a few awkward moments, till Hermione finally broke the silence by asking, "Why a white rose?"

Draco glanced at her, still holding out the rose. "I chose white because I wanted to apologize. I also want it to be a sign of a truce. So, I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, Draco," Hermione said quickly. "It was my fault. I goaded you on to saying _that._ It was completely my fault. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

A few more seconds ticked by as the stood there. Draco shifted his weight to his other foot and said, "Well, I never imagined that I'd be apologizing to you of all people." He said it without malice. "I need to get back to Quidditch practice, but I want to at least get an answer. Will you accept my apology?"

"Will you accept mine?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, of course!" Draco nodded vigorously. "I do. Now, then. Do you accept mine?" The tone in his voice told the Hermione that he wanted an answer _now._

She cocked her head to one side, her chestnut hair falling in front of her shoulders. She stepped forward and took the rose, eyes still on Draco's face. "Yes, of course," she said softly, echoing his words. "I do. Definitely."

She blushed fiercely when Draco grinned. _He did get more handsome this year,_ she thought to herself, this time allowing her mind to run freely. "That's perfect, just great," Draco said, his tone much lighter now. He hopped up onto the window sill and mounted his broom. "I'll see you at dinner. Oh," he chuckled, more to himself than to her. "I just remembered that the others don't know." He gave her a crooked grin. "Since you accepted my apology that means that you can't tell anyone about this friendship."

"What? Hey, wait!" Hermione ran to the window to stop him, but he was already gone. She watched him pull up and fly off to the Quidditch field, where several shapes could be seen flying about. She shook her head and smiled in spite of herself.

A friendship with her worst enemy. Who would have thought? Not her, of course. Still…she looked at the rose in her hand and lightly ran her fingers across the velvet petals. It couldn't be that bad. Would this work? It didn't matter. She'd still give him a try.

Her eyes wandered back to the gift, the window above her bed. Yes, this just might work…

"DRAKIE, WHERE WERE you at lunch?" Pansy wined as she clung to the annoyed Slytherin's arm. "I missed you. Blaise didn't tell me where you were."

"I already told you," Blaise sighed as he ate a mite of mashed potatoes. "I didn't know where he went. Speaking of which," he said, raising an eyebrow in the direction of his best friend, "where _were_ you?"

Draco shrugged. "I had some business to attend to." He wondered, bringing a bite of chicken to his mouth, if he should tell Blaise about the friendship. After all, he had forbidden Hermione from telling her buddies, but hadn't said anything for himself. Unconsciously, his eyes strayed over to the Gryffendor table.

Potter was flirting with the She-Weasel. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days. The other red-headed sibling was stuffing his face, as usual. And, lo and behold, there was Hermione, reading. Reading, of all things! Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He should have expected her to do that. He had been hoping to catch her eye, but, of course, she was keeping her word and not letting anyone in on the secret they shared. _Potter's lucky to have such a trustworthy friend,_ he thought. _Heck, _I'm _lucky to have her._ He paused for a moment, considering the fact that he actually was able to call someone, and a muggleborn of all people, a true friend. The thought made him…happy.

Hermione must have felt that she was being watched, because her brown head suddenly bobbed up and she looked around. Draco quickly averted his eyes, not wanting the embarrassment of being discovered. He waited for a minute before sneaking another look at her. She was staring back at him. Seeing that she had caught his eye, she grinned and gave a small wave, disguised as a simple turn of a page in the book she was reading.

Draco was sure that he was blushing. He could feel it. And with his fair, pale complexion, he was pretty sure that someone else was bound to notice his beet red face. He returned her gesture with the slightest of nods. Satisfied, the young witch returned her interest to her book. Draco bit his lip as the uncomfortable warmth drained from his face. He shook his head and glanced around, hoping that the exchange had been subtle enough to go unnoticed.

He took a look at Pansy and snorted. She most certainly hadn't seen it. She had been too busy preening herself and asking Millicent Bullstrode about how she looked. He sighed in relief. Good. No one had noticed. He felt someone watching him and looked up. It was Blaise, eyes wide and hawk-like. And he had most definitely seen it.

He had this crooked little smile on his face as he looked behind him to get a good look at the person Draco had been communicating with. His eyes narrowed as he realized that it was the Gryffendor table.

Draco winced when the dark-skinned boy's eyes widened at the sighting of Hermione Granger. "No," Blaise whispered, whipping his head back around and facing his pale comrade. "You're kidding me."

Draco, for once, was at a loss for words. What could he tell him? He spread his hands and shrugged slowly. Blaise still stared at him, shocked. Draco didn't like that look. It made him feel like he had done something wrong. Like he had betrayed his house and his fellow Slytherins. Then again, they had never really been friends at all. It was just for the money and social status. So he shouldn't be feeling guilty. But…Blaise really had been a friend all those years. More than the others, that's for sure.

Draco rubbed his forehead. What would he do now? Would Blaise rat him out? "Listen, man, I–"

"Care to explain this interesting thing you have going on with the mudblood?" came Blaise's cold voice.

_Mudblood._ Draco gave the other boy an icy glare. "Enough," he snapped. "Call her that again, and I swear that I will curse you into next week!" He looked down at his plate and began to eat angrily, avoiding Zambini's gaze.

A low chuckle reached his ears and he glanced up to see a lopsided grin on Blaise's face. "W-what?" Draco asked nervously. "What do you want? If you're going to blackmail me or something, I'm not going to do it."

"Oh?" Blaise cocked his head to one side. "And why not? You've got everything to lose."

"No," Draco replied bravely. "Even if I lose everything, I believe that she'll stick by me. So I'll still have something." He cautiously took another bite of food, keeping one suspicious eye on those sitting around his in case they were listening in on their conversation.

Blaise gave a low whistle. "Nice words. I gotta hand it to you," he said. "I never thought I'd see the day that you'd take a relationship seriously."

Draco blinked as he noticed that Blaise hadn't called Hermione a muggleborn or a Gryffendor. He also noticed that Blaise had said _relationship._ "Wait, what?" he asked.

"Well," Blaise sighed, placing his elbows on the table and leaning on them, "every girl you've dated, you tossed away in two weeks or less. 'Cept for Pansy, of course." He nodded to the vain girl who was flirting with another Slytherin boy. "But…I understand. I won't say a word." Draco opened his mouth, but Blaise held up a hand. "Yes, I know that you thought I was angry, but hey! I'm a good actor, you've gotta admit. I'll cheer you two on…in silence, of course. She's got my approval."

"Hold it," Draco blurted out. Blaise looked up. "Yeah?"

"I-I never said that I was going out with her!" Draco spluttered. "You just made that assumption on your own. It's only a friendship." He lowered his voice when Pansy glanced at him before going back flirting. "And besides," he whispered, "she'd never be willing to go out on a date with me. I don't think she likes me like that."

Zabini looked at him incredulously. "I can't believe that I'm hearing _you_ of all people say this!" he exclaimed. "You are Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin. You've dated almost every girl in our house, and the other houses. And you think that she doesn't like you?" He shook his head. "She must be the One," he muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"I mean," Blaise said slyly, "that she must be the One for you. True love." He batted his eyelashes mockingly as Draco shook his head.

"No. No way, man, absolutely not!" He stole a quick glance at the girl. Her hair was falling into her face as she bent earnestly over the book she was reading, then looked up quickly when she was addressed by Ginny.

"Dude…"

She really did have wonderful eyes. Heck, she seemed to have definitely matured over the years. He wondered why he hadn't noticed before…

"Dude!"

Draco snapped to attention. "What, what?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You were staring at her. Merlin's beard, I thought that you were going to float up off the ground and fly to her side. You like her."

The blond frowned. _I like her?_ He looked at her one more time. Did he like her? He turned back to Blaise. "And if I do?"

A grin spread across his friend's face. "Go after her, man. Chase her and make her yours. Follow her to the ends of the earth and woo her, then sweep her up into you arms and carry her off on a broom."

Draco sat there, dumbfounded.

Blaise chuckled. "I've taken an interest to muggle novels. Sorry."

"You're a real romantic, you know?"

He shrugged. "I get around."

"Back to going after her?"

"There's that Hogsmead trip coming up tomorrow," Blaise pointed out. "You could ask her to go with you for the day."

"But what about Potter and Weasely?"

"Make an excuse," Blaise snorted. "Say it's something like Head Boy and Girl business. Oversee the trip or something. That'll get them out of your way. And if she truly likes you, Hermione will agree to accompany you and not tell her little buddies."

"Where was your intelligent, devious mind years ago?"

"Nobody bothered to call so it took a vacation."

"Ha! Whatever." Draco looked to the girl again. _He suggests that I like her. I suppose it might be possible._ A smile spread across his face. _Yes. It might be possible. It's definitely possible._


	6. Anything For You VI

Chapter VI

"OF COURSE I would want to accompany you!" Hermione exclaimed. She was brushing her hair in the mirror and turned to look at Draco, who had opened the new window and was sitting in his room. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to go with someone else other than Harry and Ron. They always seem to get into trouble. And I'm the one caught up in all of it."

"You three do seem to have a knack for getting into odd situations," Draco agreed, watching her closely.

Hermione stared at him for a second, then quickly turned back to the mirror and continued to brush her hair. She felt a faint blush creep into her cheeks as she still felt his gaze on her back. _He seems to be very…_She couldn't describe it. Ever since they had come back from dinner, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her.

Hesitantly, she put down the brush and clicked off the lights. It was getting late anyway. No sense in trying to stay up and talk. Draco's eyes followed her as she climbed onto her bed. "Um," she said uncertainly, "is something wrong?"

Draco seemed to give her a crooked smile as he replied, "No. Nothing's wrong. Why?"

"You keep staring at me," she pointed out.

"Who _wouldn't_ want to stare at you?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Are you sure that you're feeling alright, Draco?"

He looked at her, feigning shock yet still keeping the smile on his face. "I'm feeling perfectly fine." He leaned forward till his face was right over the window sill. "Would you like to check?"

Hermione started to say no, then changed her mind and reached out and touched his forehead. He was right, it did feel normal, but she still sensed that something was wrong. Not in a bad way, but more in a different way. Like his mood had changed somehow.

"Well?"

Hermione looked up. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

Draco shrugged. "I need someone to spend the day with. Why not someone who I feel comfortable with?"

"Comfortable?" Hermione inquired. "How? We haven't had this truce for long."

"I don't know." Draco ducked down and Hermione could hear the rustle of fabric as he snuggled under the sheets. "Fighting with you for so many years must have done _something_. I'm used to being with you."

Hermione heard a yawn, followed by, "Now go to sleep."

She smiled and lay down, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she felt excitement bubbling in her chest and she didn't really want to go to sleep. _It's going to be so much fun!_ she thought. _Perhaps this truce is going better than I thought it would be._ She blushed at the sudden image of her and Draco walking hand in hand down the Hogsmead streets, gazing into each other's eyes. _Where did that come from?_ she thought frantically. _We have no romantic relations._

She gave a wistful sigh. _He only wants to be friends._ She barely opened her eyelids to glance at her pillow. _Friends…_

"THAT LOOKS REALLY good on you," Draco commented as Hermione walked beside him in the street.

"Oh?" The distracted girl looked down at her simple brown dress and smiled a bit. "It was my mother's. Does it really look that good?"

Draco knew that he was blushing, so he tried to cover it up. "Your mothers?" She nodded. "Then that explains it. A plain, boring muggle dress for a plain boring muggle girl. Fitting." He regretted it before the first word left his mouth. He could tell that she was hurt without even looking at her. _Why do I always say the wrong bloody thing?_

"Boring," she said quietly. "Of course." She looked around at the shops they were passing by. She noticed Crabb, Goyle, and Blaise passing by and nudged Draco. "Look. Go grab a butter beer with them or something."

_God_, Draco thought, gritting his teeth. _Now she wants to get rid of me. But I'm not going to back down that easily. I made another mistake, and I'm going to fix it._

He caught Blaise's eye and they both nodded to each other, Blaise in understanding. Apparently, he had heard what Draco had said to the girl. _I'm going to fix it,_ Draco told himself again.

"I'D PREFER NOT to."

"What do you mean? You should go hang out with them," Hermione said, pushing him towards the Slytherin group, who were still walking past. "Look, even if they aren't your real friends, Blaise is still there." She didn't want him to see her blush.

"I choose who I want to spend my time with," Draco said firmly. He planted his feet on the ground and turned to look at her. "And you're the one I want to spend my time with. Got it? Blaise will understand."

"But…" Hermione looked away, her hands closing into fists and clenching his black robe. _Why is my heart pounding so quickly?_

"I'll stay with you," Draco told her gently. "I promise."

_Merlin!_ She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and she let go of his robes. "If it's fine with you," she said quietly.

"Of course. Now," Draco laughed, tugging her to the Three Broomsticks, "how about that butter beer?"

They walked into the tavern and were able to grab a small table just as a couple Ravenclaws were leaving. Hermione eased herself into the seat nervously, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She remembered Draco's earlier comment about her boring dress and felt a little more energy drain out of her. "Sorry," she muttered quietly as he sat down across from her.

He looked confused. "What did you do?"

"Well…" Why did her palms feel sweaty all of a sudden? "I'm not-"

"Drakey!" a familiar yet unwelcomed voice cooed.

Both of them turned to see Pansy entering the tavern, followed by Crabb, Goyle, and Blaise who seemed to cast Draco an apologetic look.

"I just ran into them on the street," the female Slytherin gushed, walking over and promptly sitting in Draco's lap. "We all wanted something to drink, so we came here, and here you are!" As if noticing Hermione for the first time, she glanced at the girl and sneered, "Why waste your time with this piece of muggle trash?" She completely missed the furious look that crossed Draco's face.

Hermione smiled bitterly and stood. "Please," she said icily, "sit here. That is, if you're not afraid of being contaminated by my germs." Amazingly, she remained calm, though her blood boiled as Pansy snuggled up to Draco, who hadn't moved at all.

Hermione sighed. Of course, it would be too much to ask for Draco to defend her. _Think of the position he's in,_ she told herself. _He can't help you. If he does, they'll get suspicious, then…_With a slight nod to Blaise, who seemed surprised, she exited the place and decided to take a walk down to the fence that kept people away from the Shrieking Shack.

She could hear an inner voice jeering at her for being a coward. Why hadn't she done anything? She could have hexed Pansy if she had wanted to.

_I've read about this before,_ she thought leaning on the rotted brown fence and staring out at the old shack. _When a girl suddenly becomes nervous around a boy, it means that she li-._ She cut the thought off and told herself, "Oh, no. Not a chance." And yet, the idea didn't seem too far fetched. "But," she protested against herself, "we just started a truce. We're _friends,_ aren't we?" She smiled a bit, though, at the thought of him liking her. "Do I really…?"

"Really what?"

"Ah!" Hermione whirled around saw the blond haired boy who plagued her thoughts walking closer. "Nothing," she said at his inquiring look. "It's nothing."

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" Hermione sighed, leaning on the fence once more. "And where's Pansy and your fr-." She paused as he raised an eyebrow. "Where are the others?"

"I ditched them. But never mind that," Draco said with a wave of his hand. "What were you apologizing to me for in there before Pansy burst in?" He made a face at the mention of the annoying girl.

Hermione smiled for a second then trained her eyes on the shack. "I was saying sorry because I was to plain to be seen with you. I should have worn something better."

The heavy sigh that sounded behind her made her glance at Draco.

"Listen," he said, coming to lean on the fence with her. "Sometimes I say things that I don't mean."

"I'm pretty sure that you meant what you said when we were still enemies."

He glared at her. "Just listen, will you? I say things I don't mean when I get embarrassed. And I don't normally dish out compliments to just anybody, so it was a bit awkward for me."

"Hmm." Hermione couldn't think of anything else to say as he shifted closer. Too close, in fact. She could smell the scent of light cologne in his clothes; no doubt a gift from his father.

"Anyway, I'm sorry. Again," Draco said, even closer now. He looked at her and smiled, his lashes creating a veil over his beautiful grey eyes.

_I do think that I could faint,_ Hermione thought. Why was he so handsome?

SHE LOOKED QUITE cute, Draco thought, all flushed and embarrassed at the way he easily closed the distance between them. Her brown curls framed her smooth face as her warm hazelnut eyes nervously flickered back and forth from the shack to his face. A cozy feeling welled up in his chest…or was it in his heart?

"I'd like to make it up to you," he said, just barely whispered. Her eyes froze on his face, the Shrieking Shack all but forgotten. "If you'd let me."

Hermione ran her tongue over her pink lips, an action that set the boy's heart pounding. "I-I don't know," she replied, her voice shaking, certainly not from fear. Something entirely different. "It depends on what you're planning on doing."

"Really…" Draco trailed off as he leaned closer. Hermione's bottom lip quivered. Draco smirked as he smelled the all-too-familiar scent of her shampoo. "Well, then…" His hand reached out to touch the hair on her head. A mistake.

His touch seemed to jolt her back to reality. She hastily stepped back and looked around nervously. "I, uh, I-I," she stammered, her hands clasping her robes tightly.

Draco took a step forward.

Hermione took one look at his face and turned and fled.

Draco was left there as the warm feeling in his chest died down to a cold icy chill. In rage he kicked the fence and watched it wobble unsteadily. How could he have been so stupid? Of course she didn't see him like _that._ The relationship they had now…Heck, it wasn't even a relationship. What was going on between them was a simple friendship created by a truce. "Crap," he muttered angrily. He had nearly destroyed the truce by trying to kiss her. He wouldn't be surprised if it was already destroyed.

Turning on his heel, he began to trudge back to the village, the full weight of his actions beginning to sink in. A bitter tasted formed in his mouth as his feet finally reached one of the dirt roads that ran through Hogsmead.

Yes, Blaise had been right. Perhaps he did have feelings for the muggle girl. And yet, that was the problem. Because he hadn't even stopped to consider her feelings. She was a Gryffendor, a perfect girl with the perfect life. And he. He was a Slytherin, a pureblood, a…son of a death-eater.

"How could I have not seen this earlier?" he growled in frustration. He had never even thought about their social class differences or about which sides they served. And now…

"OH, GINNY! I have to talk to you!"

The orange-haired girl turned at the sound of her name and smiled as Hermione came up behind her. "Sure. What about?"

Hermione looked about nervously and said, "Wait, where's Harry and Ron?"

"About." Ginny shrugged. "I can't keep up with them all the time."

"Good. Now come on." Nearly yanking Ginny's arm out of her socket, Hermione practically dragged her to the Three Broomsticks. Once inside and seated at a table far in the back, Hermione leaned forward and whispered dramatically, "Something's wrong with me, Ginny."

Her orange-haired friend raised an eyebrow. "Something's wrong with the world, dear."

Hermione dismissed her sarcasm for the moment. "I'm serious. You are the _only_ one I'm going to trust with this thing. If I told the boys, they'd absolutely hate me."

Filled with interest, Ginny leaned forward too. "Speak."

"It's about…" Taking a deep breath, Hermione forced herself to continue. "I think I might like someone." Before the telltale squeal could escape Ginny's mouth, Hermione had smartly clamped a hand over it. Shaking her head, she continued, "Make a scene, and you're in so much trouble." She let go and sighed.

"Oh, this is simply wonderful!" Ginny whispered loudly, but it would have to do for now. "What's his name?"

"Uhm…" Hermione closed her eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you."

"Too late to back out now, dear," Ginny cackled mischievously in a way that made Hermione worried. "You might want to tell me now, else I'll have to ask around a bit."

Hermione smirked. "That won't help you. I just had the epiphany today, so no one should know."

"Just today?" Ginny's lips puckered. "That's interesting."

Hermione frowned. _She couldn't possibly be guessing…_

"I've got it!" Hermione swallowed as the younger witch leaned forward. "I know who it is!"

"Oh?"

"Yes." Ginny grinned knowingly. "Harry told me that you had to hang out with Draco Malfoy today because of some Head business, riiiight?"

Hermione nodded. _Oh, no…_

"Eventually, since it's Malfoy we're talking about, you two would have had to run into his friends sooner or later, correct?"

Another nod. It wasn't going well.

"There was bound to be some high-strung tensions, right?"

_Oh, Merlin. I'm dead._

"So, the one you realized that you loved after that encounter was…Blaise Zabini from Slytherin. Right?"

Hermione stopped in mid-nod and almost laughed with sudden relief. So she hadn't figured it out after all. "Wrong," she giggled.

Ginny affixed her with her bright, sarcastic stare. "Duh! I know that. Please, I'm not stupid. It's obviously Malfoy."

She could have been falling from a cliff, and the sensation it would have brought Hermione wouldn't be able to compare to the feeling in her stomach at the moment.

"All that I can say is go for it."

"P-pardon?" Hermione spluttered.

"You can't really help who you fall in love with," Ginny sighed. "Although he's a Slytherin and a git and a ferret…" Hermione rolled her eyes. "…yeah, yeah. Although he's all that, it doesn't mean that you can't go out with him."

"So, does this mean…?"

"It means nothing," Ginny assured her. "While I wouldn't tell the boys yet, or anyone else for that matter, I'm not in control of who you want to be with, right?"

Relief flooded Hermione's veins. "Great."

"And how did you exactly come to realize you like him?"

"He…" Hermione blushed furiously as she remembered how close Draco had been. She had almost heard his heartbeat. "He almost kissed me."

Ginny didn't squeal. She didn't laugh. She didn't make a sound. She simply nodded as if she seemed to understand. "Well, he is a Malfoy."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind," the Weasly giggled with a wave of her hand. "I am curious, though, to know how you two even started talking in a civilized manner to each other. Care to share? And share all of it, if you don't mind."

Hermione pursed her lips and blinked. "Strawberry-banana shampoo, I suppose…"


	7. Anything For You VII

Chapter VII

"SO HOW BAD was it?" Harry asked as he sipped his drink. "Walking around with Malfoy."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she read, easily tuning out the rest of the chatter in the Great Hall. "I'm telling you, it was fine. We didn't really even talk much."

"And when you did?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chicken.

Hermione glanced up. "Hmm?"

"And when you did talk?" he pressed. "What did you two say?"

_I liked it a lot better when these two ignored me,_ Hermione thought sourly, sneaking a look over at the Slytherin table. Draco wasn't there.

"'Mione?"

"What? Oh, uh…" She scratched her head and went back to reading. "If you're so curious, why don't you ask Dra-Malfoy yourself?" She cursed herself silently for almost letting his first name slip out.

Both boys eyed her suspiciously before returning to their current occupation. Hermione glanced at Ginny and subtly motioned to the Slytherin table, showing her that Draco was missing.

"Go look for him," the orange-haired girl whispered. "Something's obviously wrong."

"But that's probably because I ran away when…you know." Hermione frowned. Was this her fault?

"So go and fix it," Ginny said as though it was as simple as that. "He fixed your fight by making the window. Now you go do something about it."

"But _what?_"

Ginny shrugged. "It's your battle, not mine. I'm just the consultant."

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione sighed, standing. "You're _loads_ of help."

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?"

"Not at all. Will you at least walk with me to the dorm?"

"Yeah." Ginny stood.

"Where're you two going?" Harry inquired.

"Why do you need to know?" Hermione said, suddenly felling a little anxious to leave.

"I'd just like to know where you're taking my girlfriend."

"She's going to accompany me on a walk, thank you very much," Hermione said, linking arms with the said girl. "Any objections?"

Harry held up his hands in defense and didn't pry any further.

Hermione and Ginny left the Great Hall quickly and ran down the corridor. As they turned a corner, they slammed into a body and fell down in a heap on top of the stranger.

"Owww…"

Both girls looked up at the voice and saw the face of Blaise Zabini.

"O-oh," Hermione said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, scrambling to get up and dragging her companion with her. As they straightened their uniforms, Blaise looked up at them.

"It's you," he said, looking at Hermione.

"Yes," she said slowly, confused. "It's me. What of it?"

"Come with me," Blaise ordered, jumping up from the floor and grabbing her arm. He tried to pull her away, but Ginny wouldn't let go.

"Uh-uh," she said, shaking her brightly colored hair. "I want an explanation."

"You're not involved in this matter," the boy snapped.

The freckle-faced girl drew herself up proudly to her full height, just barely past Zabini's shoulders, and sent him a cold glare that made him pause.

Hermione came in between the two. "I'm sure," she said cautiously, placing a hand on Ginny's arm, "that whatever you want to tell me can be said in front of Ginny."

Blaise studied her for a moment. Finally, he said, "Draco's in his room and he won't come out."

Both girls glanced at each other, guesses already running through their minds as to why the blond boy was isolating himself from the rest of the world.

"When I asked him what was wrong, he just mumbled your name," Blaise continued. Then he glared at Hermione accusingly. "What did you do to him?"

Ginny snorted. "It's more of what he tried to do and she didn't." Seeing the confusion on his face and realizing that Hermione wasn't quite in the mood for explaining, she stated simply, "Draco tried to kiss her and she ran."

Blaise gawked at the red-head. "A-and how would you know…"

"Cause she told me."

Blaise shook his head, finding his sanity again and continued to pull Hermione. "Fine, you can come, but once we get there, not a word. Got it?" Both girls nodded and he sighed in frustration. "Not you, Granger. Just the She-Weasel." This earned him a glare from both girls. "Sorry. Force of habit."

They quickly reached the Prefect common room and climbed the stairs to the Head rooms in a narrow single file. Hermione stepped forward and put an ear to the door. Not a sound could be heard.

"I don't think I should enter," she mouthed to her two companions.

Both Blaise and Ginny made a circle with their hands and mouthed back, "The window. In your room."

Hermione nodded and quickly entered her own sleeping quarters, shutting the door quietly behind her. Blaise and Ginny proceeded to make their way downstairs, knowing that they could do nothing now.

Inside her room, she paced nervously before going to her bed and peering through the window. Her view was half blocked by a head of platinum blond hair. She slid open the window as quietly as she could, but Draco slowly turned anyway.

Hermione looked at his dull grey eyes awkwardly and reached out a tentative hand. He regarded it for a moment, then brought his own hand up and touched hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Hermione smiled. "I've already forgotten about it."

A look of happiness and disappointment crossed the wizard's eyes. "But I don't want you to forget about it. I want you to remember."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What?"

Draco tried to jerk his hand away, but Hermione held fast and used her other hand to turn his face towards her. "What?" she repeated impatiently.

"I…" Draco was at a loss for words. He honestly didn't know what to say.

Hermione giggled a bit. "Is this your way of saying that you want me to remember that you almost kissed me?"

Something clicked and Draco resumed his usual smirk. "No wonder you get top marks," he drawled lazily, as though he hadn't been serious and quiet a few moments before. "I suppose that I do."

Hermione's heart pounded in her chest. Could Draco hear it? She hoped not. Draco looked as he was debating something in his head and she was silent, watching him. Finally, the boy said, "Well, I'm not sure that I want you to remember that I almost kissed you."

Hermione's face visibly fell and she let go of Draco's hand, much to his confusion. She slammed the window shut to the side, ignoring Draco's howl of pain as his hand got caught in the way. When it was clear of the window, Hermione closed it all the way. She buried herself under her covers, though it was a bit too early to go to bed.

Of course he would want her to forget the almost-kiss. Their blood statuses were two completely different things. She bit her lip and willed herself not to cry. _How could I have been so stupid? He's…and I'm…_

"What the bloody hell?"

She flinched as her door was slammed open and a livid Draco burst into her room. She knew that he was furious because of his injured hand. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry about what?" Draco cried. "For practically mutilating my hand or for not letting me finish what I was going to say?"

Hermione curled up into a ball, only to have the covers viciously ripped off of her. She sat up immediately and glared at Draco, who shot her an equally annoyed look while cradling his hand. Hermione's look softened and she got up and went in to her bathroom. She turned on the sink faucet and, after a series of charms, eventually came back out with a small bag of ice. Gingerly, ignoring the look Draco still was aiming at her, she took his injured hand which was already turning red and starting to swell and placed the bag of ice on it.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes till Draco finally said, "I don't want you to remember that I almost kissed you in Hogsmead."

Hermione gave a bitter smile, even laughed a bit at her own foolishness, and was going to say something, but the pale boy held up his hand so he could finish.

"I don't want you to remember that I almost kissed you in Hogsmead," he repeated. "But I do want you to remember that I kissed you here."

Hermione had no time to react or even process what he had said before he leaned over.

SHE SMELLED OF the shampoo Draco had grown to love over the short time they had been civil to each other. Her lips were soft as he kissed her, and he reached up to brush her hair out of her face. There was a dull thump as the ice bag fell to the floor, but he ignored that, and also ignored the fact that his left hand was still throbbing.

Eyes closed, he pulled away a bit, waiting for a reaction, a slap, a scream, anything, _anything_ but silence. Silence was deafening. After a moment, though, he could feel a warm breath ghost over his face, and after another moment, a soft pair of lips touched his. He grinned against Hermione's mouth and tangled his hands in her gorgeous hair as her own hands slid round his back, pressing them closer together.

The kiss was slow and gentle, their mouths parting just a bit. The need for air still existed and they broke apart, both panting heavily.

Draco just had to laugh at Hermione's flustered look, cheeks red and hazel eyes shining. His hands were still laced in her hair and hers were still holding him comfortably. Neither spoke, not wanting to break whatever spell was being held over the place. Draco let go of her curly locks and lay back down on the bed, pulling the girl with him.

Hermione visibly stiffened and Draco knew what her worries were. He had been labeled throughout Hogwarts as a playboy, but with this girl, he wouldn't do that. Not with Hermione.

"It's okay," he whispered into her hair. "I swear that I won't do anything."

Hermione smiled and relaxed. "I know," she replied, resting her head on his chest. "I'm just not used to…this. Are you going to, um…stay here?" Draco could practically hear the blush in her voice and he laughed.

"Of course," he said softly. "Anything for you."


End file.
